‘Irresponsible’ triathletes banned from Human Race events for passing horse at speed

Two participants in the Royal Windsor Triathlon have been banned from future events organised by Human Race after they passed a horse at speed – an incident that was branded “completely irresponsible” by Cycling UK. One participant has been banned for 12 months and the other for life, while a police investigation into the incident continues.

Video footage from the June 17 event showed a number of cyclists closely passing a horse and rider on both sides at significant speed. One of the riders reportedly made contact as he passed.

Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns, commented: “Their behaviour, whether through ignorance or thoughtlessness, was completely irresponsible, and endangered the horse, the rider and themselves.”

A statement from Human Race states: “We believe we have identified two individuals at fault, but we won’t be revealing further details or sharing their identities, as this is a police matter.

“One cyclist will receive a lifetime ban from all Human Race events, a 2nd (who did come forward after the incident) will receive a 12 month ban from all of our events.

“As the investigations are still ongoing this is pending any further information or mitigating circumstances that may come to light in the future. We are liaising with British Triathlon, who will be responsible for taking their own actions.”

Human Race also announced a series of measures which will hopefully prevent similar incidents in the future.

These include improved signage to ensure all road users are aware of the event; direct contact with stables, polo clubs, etc. ahead of the event, warning them it is taking place; and improved education for participants and the wider cycling and triathlon community about the Highway Code and the likelihood of horses (or other users) being on the road.

The last of those will involve specifically communicating the relevant details of the Highway Code to ensure riders are informed of what to do and how to keep everyone safe in a similar situation, and also the creation of an educational communication plan focusing on how best to deal with similar situations.